Business Arrangement
by kkaylawrites
Summary: Gale was used to doing business with Madge. He thought that business was business, even with the haunted Victor of the Hunger Games. Business arrangement, plan of rebellion to overthrow the Capitol... same thing, right? [THG AU] [GADGE]
1. Chapter 1

**I've already posted this on my tumblr, but for those of you who haven't seen it yet, here's a little AU where Madge is a Victor. Hope you enjoy!**

Gale knew of three different ways to get into the woods.

The first way was to climb the big tree near the edges of the district and jump down onto the other side. This one was used as a last resort on the rare occasion that the fence was actually electrocuted. It was a long jump and Gale learned this the hard way when he jumped and almost broke his foot three years ago. Also, there was no guarantee that the fence wouldn't be electrocuted when he wanted to re-enter the district.

The second way was the one his Father had taught him all those many years ago. There was a hole in the fence concealed by some well placed bushes in the back yard of the most outermost house in the Victor's Village. It was safe enough, as long as he managed to sneak into the Victor's village without drawing suspicion from any Peacekeepers.

The third way was the way Katniss had showed him. It was another hole in the fence, much like the one his Father had shown him. This one was more convenient to use however, because it was a shorter walk from the Seam and it didn't require Gale to rack his brain for an excuse for being in the Victor's village in case a Peacekeeper caught and questioned him.

Gale always used the third way. He didn't use it as much anymore-not since he had started working in those god awful mines. The only times he went out to the woods anymore were on Sundays or on certain weekdays when the Hawthorne family was on the brink of starvation. Unfortunately, today was one of those days, which was why he was walking through the district in his hunting boots at ten at night.

He had just arrived to the Meadow when he heard the sound of obnoxious laughter. It was the kind of laughter that one could only produce with a full stomach, so Gale knew immediately that these people were no friends of his. Gale ducked behind a pile of rocks that often substituted as a playground for Seam children. From his obscured view, he could make out the glint of white of Peacekeeper's uniforms. Gale remained frozen in his rather uncomfortable position, crouched behind the pile of rocks, for quite a long time before reluctantly walking away when it became clear that the Peacekeepers weren't planning on leaving the Meadow any time soon.

Cursing his horrible luck, Gale began his long trek to the Victor's Village. Fortunately, somebody up there seemed to be taking pity on Gale for once, because he managed to make it to the other side of the District without catching sight of another Peacekeeper. It was shocking really, considering that the men in white were crawling all over the district nowadays, ever since District 12 had welcomed their latest Victor of the Hunger Games back.

Once Gale arrived to the Victor's Village unscathed, he found himself cursing his bad luck all over again. It seemed like the Victor of the 74th Hunger Games specialized in ruining Gale's life; from setting off hundreds of Peacekeepers in the once barren district, to occupying the very house he needed to trespass in order to reach the woods. Why did she have to pick the house at the very end of the village? There had to be at least ten empty houses she could have chosen from.

Grumbling under his breath, Gale pulled up the mental image of Posy's frail form and his memory of the rumbling sound of Rory's stomach to urge himself forward despite the feeling of uneasiness settling in the pit of his stomach. He walked around the large house, making sure to be silent and to be hidden by the shadows by becoming a dark extension of the brick walls. He knew what it would look like if he were to get caught, and he also knew that he wouldn't be any help to his family if he was to be executed for trespassing into the home of the Capitol's darling.

Once he made it to the backyard, it was easy to find the too-casual array of bushes and the gaping hole of the fence behind it. Glancing back one last time to make sure he wasn't being watched, Gale slipped into the safety of the woods.

Even when completely surrounded by darkness, Gale easily found his way through the woods. He knew these woods like the back of his hand. Even so, Gale made sure not to stray too far from the fence. This was no pleasure visit-he was here to hunt enough food to keep the Hawthornes going for another day or two, slip out, and get home in one piece as quickly as he could.

Gale collected two squirrels and a raccoon from his snares and grabbed a handful of edible plants that Katniss had taught him about. It was nothing close to enough, but the Hawthornes would have to make do. Like always.

It took Gale longer than he thought it would have taken him to double back to the hole in the Victor's Village. Although he had considered going through the one by the Meadow, he decided that didn't want to risk running into those Peacekeepers by the Meadow.

He felt the painfully familiar weight settling heavily into his heart again as he re-entered the District.

Gale glanced up expecting to see the silver light of the full moon, but was startled when his eyes caught sight of a striking shade of gold instead. Gale froze in his tracks, wondering if she had seen him yet. He couldn't tell if she was simply staring out her window (looking at what, he had no idea) or if she knew he was there. Heart pounding, Gale remain still, waiting for her to disappear from the window. When she remained still for longer than a minute, Gale took a chance and shifted to the right.

Her blue orbs reflected the moonlight as they followed his movement.

Shit, Gale thought to himself. He stared up at her, and she stared down. Slowly, she extended a hand and held up one finger, silently telling him to stay where he was.

When she finally disappeared from the window, Gale's first instinct was to run. But where would he go? She obviously knew who he was and what he must have been doing so close to the fence. Or perhaps she was imagining the worst when she woke up in the middle of the night to find some Seam rat in the backyard of her fancy house.

So Gale stayed. When he heard a pair of footsteps approaching him in the darkness, they were not of the heavy set of Peacekeeper boots he was expecting. Instead, they were the dainty steps of Madge Undersee.

"Hawthorne."

He waited for her next words; accusations and threats that he was sure that were to come. When they didn't come, he spoke up by matching the coolness in her voice when she had said his name.

"Undersee."

She might have smiled. It was hard to tell in the dark.

"You're trespassing."

Gale hesitated, but ended up nodding with the most confidence he could muster up. If he was going down, he might as well go down with some of his dignity intact.

"Right. You're trespassing my property. I could have you shot and killed," she paused, and Gale clenched his fists.

For one horrible moment, he considered his odds against her. Physically he was stronger, bigger, and faster. In theory, he should be able to take her down without a sweat. But this seemingly harmless girl had made it out of the Hunger Games alive at the expense of the lives twenty three other children, including that of Peeta Mellark's. She knew what it was like to have blood-human blood-on her hands. She was far from harmless.

"Yes, you could," Gale replied when she didn't continue. He hated that she was controlling the moves here, that she held all the pieces. All he could do was follow along.

"But I won't," Madge told him, and Gale felt himself release a breath he hadn't been aware that he had been holding. "And you're going to do me a favor."

"You need a favor from me," Gale repeated in a flat voice, silently but clearly voicing his disbelief. His disbelief was enough to override the anxiety that had been coursing through his veins.

"Yes. I need you to get me some bread."

Gale felt a familiar flash of annoyance wash over him. It was a feeling that he had felt whenever he and Katniss had to knock on the back door of the Mayor's mansion to trade with the Mayor's daughter, a feeling that he hadn't felt in a long, long time. He almost told her to get her own goddamn bread, that he wasn't some servant she could order around, until he realized why she might be asking this of him instead of going herself.

Bread. The baker's son, Peeta Mellark.

The boy who had taken his last breath in Madge's arms.

Gale felt his annoyance fade to something softer-sympathy. His change of attitude might have shown in his eyes, because Madge stepped forward and shoved something into his hands. The roughness in her movement and her obvious avoidance of touching him directly was enough to break Gale out of his moment of weakness.

"Get enough bread to last two people a couple of days," she told him briskly after taking a step away from him. She spoke in a business-like tone. And this was business. Just like the old days, Gale realized an ironic smile. "What I just gave you should be enough to cover it. You can keep the change as a thank you."

Gale looked down at his left hand that now held a small pocket that was heavier than his hunting bag. He didn't bother opening it and looking, but from the heavy weight of it he could tell that it carried a hefty sum.

"You could go yourself," he told her, and regretted it instantly when her face darkened.

"No, I couldn't."

Gale couldn't think of anything to say. Madge didn't seem to be able to find anything to say either, but then again, she didn't seem to be trying too hard.

"I'm going back inside now. Good night," she said after a long period of silence.

He could only nod as she turned around and walked away. He followed her without thinking, coming to a stop when he reached her porch.

"I'll bring the bread tomorrow," he called out as quietly as he could. Although Madge hadn't turned him in for trespassing and breaking curfew, he knew a number of Peacekeepers that would be only too eager to do what she didn't do. "And the change."

She gave no indication that she had heard him as she closed the door shut behind her, but Gale knew from her slight moment of hesitation that she had heard.


	2. Chapter 2

It was tempting to keep the money. Although he didn't bother counting it, Gale could tell from the heavy weight in his right pocket that the hefty amount would be enough to keep the Hawthorne family well fed for the next six month without Gale risking his life making secret trips to the woods.

For a moment, Gale allowed himself to imagine all the things he would be able to do with that money. With this money he could buy Posy new white shoes that she has yearned for since the beginning of time, despite the fact that they wouldn't last a week in the coal dust coated Seam roads. With this money he'd be able to get Vick some chocolate, a treat he only got on his birthday. He'd even be able to get Rory a tutor so that at least his brother wouldn't have to suffer the same fate as an uneducated miner.

But he wouldn't do any of this, because that would mean that he would have to give away something no amount of gold coins could buy—his pride.

Gale had managed to keep him and his family alive for all these years and he would continue to manage, even without accepting charity from the likes of Madge Undersee.

He toyed with the idea of accepting at least a coin or two for making the trip to the bakery and back. It would only make sense for him to accept a payment for his troubles after all. But even as he considered the idea, Gale knew that he wouldn't be able to bring himself to accept money for a deed of basic human compassion. Pretending not to notice the Mayor's daughter's habit of overpaying for strawberries was one thing, but taking money for making sure a sixteen year old girl wouldn't have to face the family of the boy that died in her arms was another matter entirely.

No, Gale would do this out of his hard but still humane heart. Besides, there was also the fact that technically Madge could still turn him into the authorities for trespassing.

So Gale knocked on the door of the Victor's house right after slipping the money into the paper bag filled to the rim with bread, making sure that the money wasn't visible. Hopefully he would be able to escape before she noticed the unnaturally heavy weight of the paper bag so that Gale wouldn't have to go through the painful act of denying the money he really, really needed.

Madge opened the door and Gale couldn't help but marvel at the fact that she looked nothing like she did on his television screen. Ever since the first interview before the games, in Gale's mind Madge's lips were always coated in red and her blonde hair was always curled to luxurious ringlets, never mind the fact that he had seen her in plain dresses countless number of times for years before the interview.

"Good morning," Madge broke the silence first.

Gale gave a nod as his greeting and wordlessly handed her the paper bag. He didn't miss the look of longing as she took the bag into her hands and drank in the aroma of the freshly baked goods.

"Here," Madge shoved another pocket bag full of coins into Gale's chest, who had no choice but to take it into his hands. It felt even heavier than the one before. "Same thing, next week."

Gale wanted to protest. He wasn't sure if it would be good for his mental health to be tempted by all this money so often. And besides, he didn't realize that this would become a permanent thing.

But then he remembered the way Madge looked on his TV screen as she sobbed Peeta's name over and over again as the baker's son took his last breaths, his hands clutching at the knife impaled in his stomach.

So Gale nodded again, and walked away without a word. He didn't bother to mention that the money she had given him last time was still in the bag. He knew that she would find it sooner or later, but decided that she could make whatever she wanted out of it.

Their business arrangement continued.

Thankfully, Madge never commented on the money hidden between the ample amount of bread. But she always managed to send him away with a heavy pocket, making him feel unbalanced and lopsided as he walked through the Town and to the Seam.

They never spoke more than five words to each other, just as they never did when he used to sell her strawberries. Their exchanges were quick and silent, and Gale liked it that way.

But he thought of her often, even on days he didn't all the way to the Victor's village to make his weekly delivery.

He thought of her lips that were a ruby red in the Capitol, but a pale pink, almost a sickly shade, in District 12. He thought of the way her blonde hair had once been drenched in blood and rain when she became a game piece of the Capitol, and how the very same Capitol managed to turn her into a celebrity once she survived her personal hell that was called the Hunger Games.

He thought of her as he settled onto the small but cozy couch in his living room, Posy snuggling into his lap, as the Hawthornes got ready to view the announcement of the Quarter Quell.

His heart broke for her, as it often seemed to do, when President Snow announced the terms of the upcoming 75th Hunger Games.

"To give our favorite Victors a chance to share their everlasting glory with their loved ones, the tributes for this year's Hunger Games will be chosen from a pool of every District Victor's friends and family within the age requirements," President Snow announced. He raised his hands and gave a smile when the crowd went wild at his words.

But Gale was no idiotic Capitol citizen, so he knew what President Snow really meant by everlasting glory.

Damning one person to participating in the Hunger Games and actually winning wasn't enough. They had to put their loved ones in and all. There would be no _glory_ shared, only pain and tears and blood.

Gale's heart came to a stop as he mentally went through the short list of Madge's friends. She had no eligible family members as far as he knew, although he supposed that she could have some distant family members in Town that he didn't know about.

But Katniss…. would her name be one of the few to be entered into the Reaping bowl? As far as Gale was aware of, the two girls hadn't even spoken since Madge returned as Victor. Victors didn't need to go back to school, which was the only place that Madge and Katniss met. Even before Madge had been Reaped Katniss had mentioned that the two were barely friends. If he remembered correctly Katniss hadn't even visited Madge before she had been sent away to the Capitol.

Gale was too worried about everyone else that he didn't even think about himself until he heard a knock at his door.

He was shocked to see a red-eyed Madge standing on the other side, her bottom lip (pale, not red) trembling as her watery blue eyes met his bemused grey ones.

"Madge? What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry Gale. So, so sorry," she whispered.

"What for?" he asked, still not understanding. Shouldn't he be the one apologizing for her even worsening fate?

Gale watched as Madge's face morphed into an expression of shame as she fished out a piece of paper from her pocket. Her fingers were trembling as she passed it to him, and when Gale looked at it, he knew immediately what it was.

His heart stopped as his eyes skimmed over the short list of names.

The name Hawthorne was written twice on the list, right under the names Cartwright and Everdeen, which was also written twice.

"I'm sorry," he heard Madge say again, but her voice sounded odd and distant, like she was speaking to him from another world in another time.

Rory Hawthorne.

Vick Hawthorne.

Katniss Everdeen.

Primrose Everdeen.

Gale ran his eyes over these names again and again, hoping that the stroke of his eyes could magically make those names disappear from the list of the damned.

"Gale? Please, I—"

"You've damned us all," was all he managed to choke out before slamming the door in the crying Victor's face.


End file.
